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9/17/10

Friday morning
Wake up at 5 and spend hours reading about the Buddha. After breakfast, leave for the Thimpu festival, the most beloved celebration of Buddhism in the country.  Everyone dressed up in Bhutan's version of Sunday's best. I am "harassed" by one of the festival clowns and his tool of shame--a phallus.  After a thoroughly embarrassing spectacle, he insists on getting my email address. And gives me his in return.  A new friend.



Friday meeting with Atum (our teacher)

When feeling anxious, relax into the present and trust the world.

It is too easy to miss the experience of being here by trying to capture each moment.  We cannot grasp, because it is always changing.

Notice which archetypal figures speak to me.  Each is a doorway to exploration.

The quality of emptiness is this: where you have space, you have accommodation, and it is there that something of value can arise.  Think of the heart as having emptiness.  Like the empty bowl that Buddha carries.  St. Francis too.  Let life feed you.  Reflect on what is put in my bowl every day.  What is it feeding?
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